Live And Let Live - Trailer

Live and Let Live is a feature documentary film examining our relationship with animals, the history of veganism and the ethical, environmental and health reasons that move people to go vegan.

Check out the trailer:

So, Why Become Vegan?

Veganism is a combination of everything in coming to understand about life. To inspire others to commit to an eco-friendly and animal-friendly life, author Sandra Kimler has published a new book titled, “So, Why Become Vegan?: A. Nutritional Reasons B. Spiritual Reasons C. Environmental Reasons D. Ethical Reasons E. All of the Above” (published by Balboa Press).

Drawing upon years of study in nutrition and iridology, Kimler describes her motivations to live a vegan lifestyle in this new health guide. She begins by introducing the reader to tips on becoming more aware of one’s impact upon the earth and its animals. Continuing with chapters on nutrition and veganism recommendations for recipes, websites and books, and finishing with information about the ethical and environmental reasons for veganism, Kimler makes a case for the lifestyle choice.

What Kimler likes for people to take away is the confidence to change their eating habits, thinking patterns and behavior. Her message is: ‘Be kind to yourself. Never feel guilty--but always learn, change and be fiercely curious.’

Psychological Factors Regarding the Environment

There is a mental distance that many people invoke when thinking about the damage happening to the environment. A feeling that becomes present when realizing that the current lifestyle that many of us live will be the very thing that eventually kills or limits life on this planet is hard to face. There is a  sense of denial that we live with in order to cope with the reality that today’s luxuries are contributing factors to the destruction of the Mother Earth, which is why some psychological process needs to be addressed and explored regarding the problems of climate change and other environmental issues that are continuing to manifest. But doing right by the environmental movement means that we have to do without the very luxuries that we have been conditioned to believe make life worth living. 

We as people have failed to take into account the psychological conditioning that capitalism and other such systems like in the United States have had on the average person. We are continuing to struggle between the messages of society that are based on worth, gain and monetary values.

This is why the solutions lie very much in the psychological and the spiritual realms of activism; we cannot combat hundreds of years of programming with a simple Public Service Announcement or by using guilt tactics that promote recycling. We have to reach beyond the borders of our average activist actions and embrace the concept of majickal intervention as a means to transformation in thought, action and healing. We must also incorporate the knowledge we have gained from the social sciences in understanding how systems of denial operate, how dissociation from reality becomes a protective measure against what feels threatening, and how the social construct of our environment will shape and mold value systems. 

We live in a society that exists in so much pain, and with so many struggles that life becomes about the struggle and not about the beauty. We have to look at the struggle for environmental justice in combination with the many other struggles of justice we are fighting: They do not exist separately.

The fight for environmentalism is a combination of a psychological, spiritual, societal and historical wound that is wrapped in unchecked privilege, oppression, pain and the trauma of a world. We need to intensify our efforts to support ourselves in a healthy, whole and integrated way, so that we can change and heal the world.

Shopping to Help the Environment

Everyday choices can affect your family's health as well as the environment.

There's a growing trend among consumers to make choices reflecting the goals and values that matter to them most. So here are a few ideas for easy changes:

Starting with the products you use most frequently can be a simple way to shift your choices to a healthier place. Many hygiene products, such as soap, shampoo and toothpaste use unnecessary chemicals and animal ingredients that are harmful to our human body and, of course, cruel for the animal it was made from. Natural, cruelty-free (and not tested on animals) ingredients work just as well or better than the artificial/cruel variety, so look for options that don't rely on dyes, formaldehyde, parabens and animal ingredients. Ingredients with chemicals directly impact waterways once they go down the drain. More cruelty-free options can be kinder to your body, to animals and to the environment.

Cleaning products like floor polish, glass cleaners, and bathroom disinfectants can be harsh and tested on animals. Consider gentler, cruelty-free alternatives.

Even if your foods are vegan/cruelty-free, certain food products can contain artificial sweeteners or use pesticides. Try switching to less processed foods and buying organic when possible. Look for locally sourced foods for added freshness and to reduce overall carbon footprint in transit.

Companies with smart environmental policies do exist. Do your research and support brands that work to lessen their environmental impact, and take pride in the quality of their ingredients, which should be listed in full on the packaging.

Brands like Tom's of Maine, which makes personal care products like soap, deodorant and toothpaste, as well as others, share their progress in helping the planet by publishing goals and results to the public. They recently released their second edition of the Tom's of Maine Goodness Report that details the company's approach to ingredients, packaging, waste, water, energy, the community, and its employees. For example, the company has opted to use steam capturing technology, ultimately reducing water usage. Cartons used for packaging toothpaste are made of 100 percent recycled paperboard and can be recycled again after use. The company is even looking into future "smart packaging" alternatives, such as biodegradable packaging made of potato starch.

Seek out a list of simple and understandable renewable and naturally-sourced ingredients. Also, inspect the material on which it's printed. Minimal packaging made of recyclable materials is ideal.

If your town doesn't take in a wide range of waste for recycling, TerraCycle is an innovative USA based up-cycling leader that enlists volunteers to recycle waste to make products such as benches, picnic tables or deck materials, ultimately sending less to landfills.

The impact of a few simple changes can have a lasting ripple effect that goes well beyond your home and life.

Buddhism and the Environment

"In an age of increasing environmental destruction, Buddhism can inspire the ecological awareness that’s necessary for a more balanced existence."

Below is a great article that ties Buddhist beliefs with a healthy environmental awareness:

Seeing true nature: Buddhism and the environment

A Sacred Duty: Applying Jewish Values To Help Heal The World

This is a documentary on environmental threats and how Jewish teachings can be applied in responding to these threats.

Produced by Emmy-Award-winning producer, director, writer, and cinematographer Lionel Friedberg's, A Sacred Duty discusses issues on global warming, but it goes beyond that by showing how religious responses can make a major difference and why a shift toward a plant-based diet is an essential part of efforts to reduce global climate change and other environmental threats.

10 Environmental and Animal Activists Who Were Killed for Taking a Stand

Supporting veganism in the face of overwhelming and powerful opposition can be a courageous and sometimes dangerous act. For many activists, unfortunately, taking a stand for what’s right becomes the last thing they ever do.

Between 2002 and 2013, for example, an incredible 908 people in 35 countries were murdered for trying to defend the environment, according to an April 2014 report from Global Witness. During this period only 10 perpetrators were caught and punished for these crimes.

The link below shows just a few committed activists who were killed over the last 25 years fighting for the causes they believed in:

10 Environmental and Animal Activists Who Were Killed for Taking a Stand

F.A.A.R.M.'s Expertise is Helping You LIVE!

 

 

As of today, F.A.A.R.M. is in the Expert Health & Medicine category at LivePerson, answering any questions you may have about veganism--dietary, ethically, and environmentally. This category is technically titled: Health & Medicine: Diet and Nutrition, so F.A.A.R.M. can also counsel people on that in general as well, having worked professionally in managing health food stores and working in diet clinics for several years in the past, but the main focus will be on veganism:

 

Professional Service

I will help you to understand abolitionary veganism, and veganism as a whole, which is about diet, ethics and the environment, but it's mainly about ethics. While being vegan is mostly about ethics, I'll show you how all three can not be separate, as being vegan is about saving animals, humans and the entire planet. I will offer recipes, and suggest places as to where you can get very affordable vegan items of food, clothing and cosmetics, both online and offline. Proceeds from my services will go towards helping stray/rescued animals get fed, spayed or neutered and to help guardians take great care of their companion animals by providing healthy nutrition and great information for them as needed. So happy with the "virtual office"! F.A.A.R.M. is looking forward to serving you!

Defining Vegetarianism and Veganism

I just posted the message below at a blog which asked the question:

"Are Dietary Vegans Vegan At All?"

My response:

A person who only doesn’t eat animal products (and is not ethical or environmental) is a vegetarian–at best, a strict vegetarian. If they chose to only not eat meat then they are a lacto-ovo vegetarian.



Vegetarianism, by definition, in ANY way, shape or form is about health/diet only.


It has ALWAYS been this way by original definition.



We vegans are part of the cause of why the word vegan is now erroneously defined these days. When you go to vegan sites, what do you mostly read about? FOOD. Vegans themselves add to the erroneous way in now what the media and celebs thinks of as veganism being just about what one eats.


Also, veganism is not a “lifestyle” (as some vegans even say). Veganism is a life. Period. And a life is more than just food.

Related article:

Is Veganism a Religion Under Anti-Discrimination Law?